Mary: Praise Overshadows Fear

And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.”

Luke 1:46-50 (ESV)

Mary had every right to be scared.

She was young, betrothed and now told she was pregnant. And to top it all off, the news was delivered by an angel — you know, those spiritual beings that tend to terrify people. As Mary processed the news, I can only imagine what was going through her head. Would her family disown her? Would people in town make assumptions and gossip? Would Joseph believe any of this? Would she be rejected? Disparaged? Or worse?

But the thought Mary chose to settle on wasn’t one of fear but of faith: “I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” – Luke 1:38 (ESV). Later on, when Mary visited her cousin Elizabeth, the latter said of Mary: “You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what he said” Luke 1:45 (NLT).

It would be nice to say that our typical response to fear is always Mary’s response: a song of praise and hopeful expectation. But let’s be real. Fear
creeps into our minds and souls like the slow roll of a dark cloud before a storm. How do you respond? Retreat? Isolate? Hold your fear close to your chest and spiral into endless “what-ifs”?

Let’s look at Mary’s response. After Mary visited Elizabeth, she turned her attention to God in a song known as the Magnificat, which is the first Latin word of the song. It means “my soul glorifies the Lord.” There are a few things in this song that are helpful as you seek to ground yourself in hope when fear swirls around:

Mary began with praise.

The whole song is about singing God’s glory, and though I’m sure Mary
had so many questions about what it meant to give birth to the savior of the world, but she opened with rejoicing instead of concern.

Mary remembered her part in God’s story.

In verse 48, Mary said: “For he has looked on the humble estate of his servant… from now on all generations will call me blessed.” (ESV) Mary knew that God was in control; he was the one who created and empowered her. She was his creation, and that reminder allowed Mary to focus on the truth of who she was and who he is. She was reminded that her part of the story was not the end of the story.

Mary remembered God’s goodness and justice.

Mary didn’t just reflect on the blessings God bestowed or the promises he made to Israel; she reflected on how God would also set wrong things back to right (1:51-53).

Mary overshadowed fear with praise. She put aside insecurity with the truth of who God was, remembering her role in his story. And she looked past concerns of rejection or gossip, recalling that she served a God of justice.
And because of that, Mary could hope. And so can you.

• When have you felt overwhelmed by fear? How did you respond?
• What emotions do you think Mary felt when the angel delivered the news?
• How can Mary’s response to God’s news encourage you this Christmas?